Miranda Lambert: Country's Cool Girl

Miranda Lambert's got it all going on right now: Hauling home awards, touring the country, planning her wedding to Blake Shelton. (This couple is so busy, they've never seen a movie together!) But first, she tells REDBOOK about her gutsy journey from tough childhood to mega-stardom.

The first thing I notice when I sit down with Miranda Lambert is her chipped cherry-red-polished fingernails and an engagement rock the size of Texas. On the feisty country star, the combo looks utterly right. We're hanging out in the dressing room of a photo studio in Las Vegas, where Miranda's getting dolled up to shoot REDBOOK's cover. She's wearing a robe, bouncing her feet in a pair of chestnut brown Uggs, and "like"-ing and "you know"-ing her way through stories about her childhood (she's a Texas girl, grew up on a farm), her friends in the biz (Carrie Underwood, Lady Antebellum's Hillary Scott), and her wedding next month (to country hottie and huge star in his own right Blake Shelton).

Miranda, 27, started performing on the Texas bar circuit as a teen, and in 2003 she placed third on the NBC reality talent show Nashville Star. "I was kind of glad I didn't win," she laughs. "I didn't have to be thrown out to the sharks right away, you know?" From there, her career skyrocketed: Over the next seven years, her albums Kerosene, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and her most recent, Revolution, all debuted at number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart — and all went platinum. That latest album earned her three Country Music Awards and, in February, a coveted Grammy; this month she's up for seven Academy of Country Music Awards. As the ultimate cake topper (so to speak), last May she got engaged to Blake, her boyfriend of six years whose farm is down the road from hers in Oklahoma.

With her friendly-as-pie smile, fresh round face, and a dimple that sneaks into her right cheek, Miranda really doesn't look like the same girl who commands sold-out arenas, belting out songs about cigarettes, guns, and burning down the house of her cheating lover. But the more we talk, the clearer it is that the new queen of country is a winning mix of glamour (just look at all that hair!) and true grit.

Is it right that you learned to play guitar at 17 so you could write your own songs?

Yeah, my dad bought me a guitar when I was like 10, and I didn't really want it then. But I did this demo in Nashville when I was 16 with some songs [that had been chosen for me] that were really sweet pop-y country. They didn't move me at all. When I came home, I was like, "I have more to say." So I went to Dad and said, "That guitar. How about teaching me a few chords?" I wrote my first song in two days. It felt like, Right! This is what I was supposed to do! I'm really fortunate because, in my career, I haven't had to deal with anybody trying to make me something I'm not.

Why do you think that is?

When I first got my record deal after Nashville Star, I had been playing bars in Texas for over two years, learning who I was as an artist. So when I got the deal — looking back, I was probably too confident for my own good! I went into the big board meeting, and I was like, "Look, if you're going to try to change me and make me dance around and sing songs I don't want to sing, I'd rather just go back home and play." I was 19 and trying to stand my ground. And the president of Sony said, "Make your record. We'll leave you alone." I had all my arguments ready, and I didn't even need them.

I've heard you called the Lady Gaga of Nashville. Why do you think that is?

I'm not near as brave as her [laughs], but I take it as a compliment. She's awesome. I guess it's the fact that I don't give a crap what people think. I just am who I am.

Have you gotten any advice from a country veteran that's stuck with you?

Reba McEntire once said something really cool to me. She said, "Always show up like a star. Always spring for that limo. If you appear like a star, people will treat you like that and you will be one."

Your 2010 hit "The House That Built Me" was originally written for Blake, but the two of you decided you should perform it. How did that happen?

We were driving home from the airport, listening to a pitch CD for Blake. "The House That Built Me" just hit me so hard. My dad and mom had a successful private-investigator business, but there was a spell when jobs stopped coming in. They lost everything and had to start over. We moved to this old farmhouse, and I think that shaped me to be who I am. We fixed it up as the money came little by little, one room at a time. I remember my mom tacked pictures on the walls of what it was going to look like, every little detail. So in the car I just started bawling, and Blake's like, "Baby, if the song hits you like that, you need to record it. Do you want it?" I said, "Hell yeah, I want it!" We joke now because when it was about to go number one, he was like, "Hey, can I have that song back?"

How does it feel to have a song reflecting the toughest time of your life indirectly lead to the greatest moment of your career?

It's come full circle. That song is so special because it reminds me of the bad that happened. We were literally homeless. We had to live with my uncle. And I watched my dad come through it. He had to dig ditches a few times for four dollars an hour because we had to eat. The part that I love the most is that when we moved out to the house that built me — that's what we call the farmhouse now — Dad was like, "My family will never be hungry again." So we literally lived off our land for about two years. We had hogs and rabbits. We had a garden. Mom would be like, "Y'all go pick out what you want tonight." The first big thing I ever did [after my success] was to buy a big farm in Oklahoma, and I have a garden, all the same stuff.

In the song "More Like Her," you sing about a woman you wish you were like: the confident one who has the man. Are you that woman now?

Yeah. I'm not a girl anymore. I'm ready for the next stage of life. No babies, though!

No babies?

I have seven rescue dogs. I have a long time till I'm ready for something like that. But every time I feel the need, I babysit my friends' kids, and I'm like, "I love 'em, but at 5 o'clock, they're waiting by the door when you get off work!" And also, getting a puppy is pretty good birth control! [Laughs] But now Blake and I are starting to settle into our life together. We definitely want to always keep our feet on the ground and not let business carry us away. It's so awesome to get on the red carpet together, share the success and go on tour, but when we go home, we're just home. We go fishin' and sit on the porch and have a beer. I love that. When all this glitz and glam is fading? We'll still have that. That's my main goal, and I think his too.

I've heard you two have gone hog hunting and gator hunting on dates. What other surprising things do you do together?

We hunt, we fish. But one surprising thing we realized the other day is we've never, ever been to the movies together. Ever.

I heard your engagement party was really down-home and fun. Will your wedding have a similar vibe?

Anything we do will — it's who we are. I'm addicted to all the wedding shows: Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?, My Fair Wedding, Say Yes to the Dress. But sometimes I think it's all about the bride, and it's the groom's wedding too. So I want to make sure Blake's and my wedding represents both of us. It's about us and our love.

You've talked about getting in shape for the wedding. How are you doing that?

The CMAs are what actually gave me the kick in the butt I needed. I had nine nominations, and I was like, "Okay, I need to rope it in here." I had a trainer, and once I started looking and feeling good, I was like, "Can you possibly stay till next May?" He knows how to work with me, 'cause I'm not a boot camp-style girl. I don't deal with harshness. I don't love working out at all. And I don't like dieting.

Are you doing any of that for the wedding? Have you given up any foods you love?

Oh, yeah. My diet now is like a vegetable, a sweet potato, and chicken or fish. I don't really like vegetables. But I'll eat them.

...You say with a complete scowl on your face.

'Cause I'm a bacon-and-eggs girl! But it feels much better to fit in clothes and feel confident. I'd rather have that than a cheeseburger at the end of the day.

Are people giving you marriage advice?

Some people were like, "Why y'all getting married? Why would you ruin it?" It's really kind of awful when you're so excited and people have a negative attitude. But my parents have been married for 33 years, so I know it can happen. I'm going into it with complete confidence. Marriage is gonna be your stability through everything. It's someone who always has your back. And it makes me want to be a better woman so I can be that for Blake. Forever.

I remember one time I was in a club after a gig. "Kerosene" came on the stereo and everybody was dancin', and I remember just divin' into the crowd and dancing to my own song. I think I had a little too much wine that night! [Laughs] My friend's like, "You just disappeared." I'm like, "I was rockin' out to myself!" Which is kind of embarrassing now, but it was the first time I saw a bunch of people in a club rockin' to my music. My friend came and just drug me out and said, "You need to go to bed. You're done. Get on the bus."

There is no doubt that with all the musician friends we have and with us two that somebody will grab a guitar at some point in the night. Music is what we live for, so I'm sure the wedding will be full of it.

You've said you're feeling more settled now. Will your next album be softer than the earlier ones?

The next album will reflect my personality. That's what Revolution did. But I doubt if it'll be softer, because no matter how in love [singing the word] and happy I am, I still have that fiery side. And I always will.

A word from the bride and groom
Miranda talked all about fiancé Blake Shelton, so we called him up (he was getting ready to host the Academy of Country Music Awards with Reba McEntire) for his answers. It's The Almost-Newlywed Game!

What makes you two work so well together?

MIRANDA: Blake lets me be who I am. And I love his quirky sense of humor. He'll say, "What's it like to be so straight that you never laugh?" I've loosened up a lot since we started dating. Then at times I'm like, "This is reality time; turn off the funny guy." So we balance each other out.

BLAKE: I know the person that Miranda's not on stage. On stage, she turns into this superhero — and that's cool. But I also know the Miranda who's clumsy and cries and loves puppies and the color pink. It also means that we don't put up with each other's bulls--t.

What did you learn from touring together in 2008?

MIRANDA: I learned that I'm glad we decided to keep both of our buses! Because some days I'd be like, "You're getting on my nerves. Go to your bus!" [Laughs] When he's on tour with his guys, they punch each other and do whatever they do. And at some point I'll say, "I'm not your buddy! This guy world is killing me." But overall, we want to do it again. We pushed each other to be better.

BLAKE: I learned a lot watching her on stage every night. I've been doing this much longer, and it used to be, "You just listen to me." But damn, this is a girl who steps out on stage and has complete control of the audience. It's pure artistry.

Have you written songs about each other?

MIRANDA: He hasn't, but he should! I've told him to. I'm like, "Don't you think I'm awesome? Don't you want to write a song about me?" [Laughs] "Makin' Plans" [from the album Revolution] is obviously inspired by him. He wrote a song inspired by my dog Delilah, so that's the closest we've come. If you can't write about me, write about my dog!

BLAKE: I probably will. It'd be about how complicated a girl can be. There's many, many layers of Miranda. She's a complicated girl, but she's easy to love.